Ataxia
by FritzFultz
Summary: Two new mutants join the X-Men. Takes place sometime during the first season. There never was and never will be an apocalypse. Instead a different enemy has risen.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from X-Men Evolution, but I wish I did However, I do own Fritz and Axel. They are mine. Steal them and I will break your virtual kneecaps. So there.

**Author's note:** AU Fic. This is in fact a PG-13 story. So, if you're not allowed to subject yourself to mild language and gore, you should stop reading now. You've been warned, so I don't want to see any angry letters from mothers telling me that their child is swearing up a storm because of this story. Please read and review.

/\/\/\/\= Massive time change.

******= Character focus change.

Blah.

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**Berlin**

**January 4th, 2001:Sunday**

**6:37p.m. **

"Ugh, Axel we're out of bread," Axel Fultz's mother complained, gazing at him hopefully.  
            "So, what do you want me to do about it, exactly?" Axel replied, peering over his comic book at his expectant mom.  
            "Will you please go down to the market and buy a new loaf? If you don't we won't be able to use it for dinner."  
            "Mom, come on! This book is just getting good! I want to finish it before school tomorrow. Have Felix do it or something."  
            "Axel Benedikt Fultz! If you don't get up right now and go to the market, you will never see that comic book again! Got it?"  
            Axel sighed, cursing under his breath in German as he rose to his feet and grudgingly accepted the bread money his mom was holding out to him. He threw his comic book into his room as he made his way to the front door.  
            "I'll be back in a few minutes!" he called to his mom, stepping out into the afternoon air and shutting the door. 

            He inhaled deeply and let it out in another sigh. _"Why does mother pull me away from my comic book_ _day after day after day?" _He thought to himself. _"Hey, perhaps I'll end up like those kids in the movies. They're_ _obsessed with comic books and end up becoming super heroes." _ He snickered at the thought of being doused in radioactive chemicals and becoming super strong.   
            People called out his name and made annoying small talk about the weather and about his family, his pets, blah blah blah. He ended the conversations as soon as he could, by making up excuses, to get to the market so he could get back home and finish his book.   
            After talking to at least eleven different people about the weather and his family, he finally reached the market, and slowly stepped inside, making sure the money was safely in his pocket. Through his prescription-tinted glasses, he looked at all the different prices of bread, deciding on the cheapest one.   
            "Hm. This'll do, I suppose," he muttered to himself, taking the loaf off of the shelf. He strolled up to the counter and placed the bread in front of the cashier. "This will be all."  
            "Hey, Axel. How's it going?" the cashier asked, taking the money from him and ringing up the prices.  
            "Not bad, not bad. You?" Axel replied, clearly wanting to get out of the market and back home as soon as humanly possible.  
            "Fine. Very fine. Here's your change and here's your bread. Have a good day Axel; say hi to your mom for me."  
            He muttered under his breath as he speed-walked to the door, bolting out into the throng of people moving along the sidewalk. "Fine. Very fine," he mumbled. "Say hi to your mom for me, I'm a stupid asshole and need to run myself off a cliff, blah blah blah. Grrrr, why does everybody annoy me when I need to get home. Bread, small talk, dumb cashier."  
            He was speed walking home, and he completely ignored the people that called out to him. He began to whistle absently, attempting to occupy himself with some random German tune while he practically ran home.  
            He stopped at the crosswalk and tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for his opportunity to cross. All he could think about was making the stupid cars stop so that he could cross and go home. For some reason, the fact that the cars wouldn't stop for him was making him very angry. His heartbeat sped up, and his breaths became shorter and closer together.   
            Suddenly, as if his mind had some kind of power over what happened, the cars all stopped. They didn't slow to a stop, or screech to a stop. No, they just stopped. Right where they were. And it wasn't just the ones in front of him, it was everywhere. Out of sheer curiosity, he walked up to one of the cars directly in front of him and gazed through the window at the immobile driver, his eyes half closed in a frozen blink, a cup of coffee touching his lips, but not letting the liquid into his mouth.  
          "What's going on..?" he asked out loud to nobody in particular, as if he could provide some kind of answer. He knocked on the window repeatedly, but the driver didn't move a muscle. He didn't even flinch at the sound of Axel's knock. He whirled around and bolted back up to the sidewalk. The same thing was happening to the people. It wasn't just the cars that had stopped; all the people were frozen in mid-walk. Some of them had their legs outstretched before them, and some of them had their leg bent behind them. A dog off in the distance had one leg poised in the air over a tree root, obviously ready to urinate all over it. But it never happened. The dog stayed where it was, on three legs, unmoving. 

            _"What is wrong with everybody? Why are they all frozen?"  _He ran to another person, and poked him in the chest. Nothing. Axel even poked him directly in his eye, and while his finger came back moist, the man didn't blink at all. He didn't seem affected by it whatsoever.   
            Axel reared back the hand holding the loaf of bread and swung it as hard as he could at the man's head. Although it wouldn't have hurt much if he could feel it, it would at least let Axel know if the man was alive.  
            Just as the loaf was centimeters away from the mans cheek, he began to move again. He was no longer frozen, and Axel's bread slammed into his face, causing it to recoil a bit. He spun around at Axel, holding his injured eye and rubbing the side of his face.  
            "What the hell was that for?!" the man wailed. His eye was watering from when Axel had poked it, and his face was all red from the blow from Axel's bread.  
            "Uh… Well… I--" Axel stuttered and couldn't think of a response if his life depended on it. He was a bit afraid by now, considering this man could probably pummel him so far into the ground that only his spiky black hair would be visible. "See--I was--…" His words trailed off suddenly when the man disappeared.   
            The space where the man used to be was now nothing but a blur of color and skin. The people that were frozen minutes ago--and normal seconds ago--were now flying past him like bullets.  
_            "Am I the only normal one here or what?"  _He turned to the left, then to the right and saw the same thing. People, cars, birds, all moving at highly unnatural speeds. The dog he had seen before was now gone, and the people in the markets were buying their item and leaving in the space of split seconds. He was ready to scream in confusion and rage at the phenomenon of everybody being completely crazy and out of control just as they all slowed down again. He was back at square one, surrounded by statues.  
            "No! NO!!" He ran out into the street, standing right in front of a bus and glaring at the driver, whose face was staring at the mirror, no doubt watching one of the bus riders behind him. "MOVE!!" Nothing. Nothing happened. The cars and busses all around him were still frozen. "Even a frozen person can't withstand somebody running right into him," he decided, his voice tainted by rage and confusion.  
            He turned to the left and targeted one of the frozen people, narrowing his eyes to slits. He backed up a bit and started running. He pumped as hard as he could, but got about two steps before the frozen bus on his right side came to life and slammed into his lower right arm. He wailed in pain and whirled around from the force of the blow and flew over the curb. He landed flat on his face on the sidewalk just as the bus screeched to a halt, blood gushing from his now mutilated lips. He could already feel the concussion settling in when his vision became ultra-bright, and his body produced excess amounts of adrenaline. Enough for him to use his good arm to stagger to his feet and gaze around him absent-mindedly. He vaguely saw the bus' side mirror hanging limply off of its screws, the corner of it splattered with blood.   
            Blackness began to envelope him as he staggered toward the side of a building, holding out his hand for support. He leaned toward the wall, but his hand never felt it; instead, he fell to the ground again and slipped into unconsciousness.

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**Berlin, St. Joseph's Hospital**

**January 5th, 2001:Monday**

**10:16a.m.**

            _"What the… Where am I? Did mom get the bread? How come I'm sleeping? I couldn't have been that tired from just walking to the market…"   
_          A thousand thoughts were going through his head as he lay there. "Why am I laying down?!" His eyes flew open and he looked around frantically. He was on a very uncomfortable bed of some sort, in a room that was all white. White walls, white ceiling, white tiled floor. There was a nightstand next to his bed that had various paper cups holding medication and a metal tray of what seemed to be hospital food. There was a TV in front of him hanging from the ceiling depicting some football game from the 80's. He opened his mouth to call out for somebody, but his swollen lip prevented him from saying anything tangible. He tried to lift up his arm to inspect his lip wound, but pain shot through his lower arm and up to his shoulder. He groaned in agony and shut his eyes, gritting his teeth against the pain.  
          "Try not to move, Axel. Your wounds have not fully healed yet and you have been asleep for a long time so you may be stiff," Axel heard a disembodied voice say from somewhere to his left. Or was it right? His head was spinning, and he didn't think the concussion had fully worn off yet. He vaguely heard the metallic hum of a motor of some sort, getting louder. He rolled his head to the left and saw the blurry form of…something. He could barely make out a man's bald head and his shoulders. But from their on, it seemed like metal. A machine perhaps? He closed his eyes tightly and opened them, repeating the process several times to get the effects of sleep out of his eyeballs. He turned toward the blurry form again, and saw what wasn't a machine, but simply a bald man sitting in a wheelchair--an electric wheelchair, which explains that weird humming noise he noticed earlier.  
            "Hello Axel. I am Professor Charles Xavier. You've suffered a minor concussion, so you'll have to stay here in the hospital for tonight. After that--well, that's what I want to talk to you about," the man said, folding his hands in front of him and resting his elbows on the armrests of his chair.  
            "Wha…. Where's mom? Why… what…" Axel could hardly talk at the moment, his head occasionally rocking back and forth on the pillow.  
            "Calm down, Axel. I will answer all your questions soon enough. But first, I would like you to answer a few of mine," Xavier said soothingly, wheeling back to the door and shutting it, then making his way back to the bed. "First of all, I'm sure you remember--at least vaguely--the incident at the street corner, yes?"  
            Axel nodded faintly, memories of the frozen people, the speeding cars, and the bus slamming into his arm came back to him. 

            "Yes, of course you do. As you also know, you suffered minor injuries from that incident. A very long laceration down your arm, and of course, your lip. Well, considering you remember the injuries, I'm assuming you remember what was a little bit…different about that incident?"  
            He nodded again, this time a little more noticeably. He could feel himself fully returning to the world of the living.  
            "Well, Axel, I'm here to tell you what happened. You possess special abilities that allow you to dramatically change the speed of your own molecules. It's obvious that you noticed the enormous change in speed when the people and cars in Berlin were going slower than snails. Well, in reality, they were not going slow, Axel. You were moving extremely fast. And vice versa; when they were going faster than bullets, it was actually you going extremely slow. This may be a lot to take in all at once, Axel, but it's the truth. " Xavier stared hard at Axel, waiting for his response to what he had just heard. Axel shut his eyes again, but not so tight this time, and sighed deeply.  
            "What are you trying to say, Professor? I'm a freak?" he asked, barely above a mutter.  
            "Absolutely not, Axel. You are anything but a freak. You see…every few millennia; certain humans evolve differently than the others. They are given special abilities, and often times, it is hard for others to accept that. It may even be harder for you to accept it than it will be for everybody else," Xavier replied.  
            "Where's mom and dad? And Felix? Where is everybody?"  
            "They are out in the waiting room. Don't worry, they're fine. And so are you. Now, what I've just told you is the truth, Axel. You were given a special ability, and whether or not you choose to control it is up to you. What I'm proposing is that you come to my school, Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters, where you will be accepted for what you are. The Institute is a place where you can learn to use your abilities among others like you. Mutants, we call them. Of course you will be able to see your family over the holidays if you choose to come, and it won't interfere with your high school learning experience. Think of the Institute as sort of a dormitory. You go to high school, then come to the Institute and to your room, where you'll have a roommate. Obviously, you can choose not to go to the Institute. You can go about living your normal life, going to high school, going home to your family, et cetera et cetera. All I'm offering is a chance to harness your newfound ability. A chance to live among those who have abilities like you. A chance to live in peace, because believe me Axel, the rest of the world is not kind toward people like us."  
            "Us? What's that supposed to mean? You're a…mutant too?"  
            "Yes Axel."  
            "What uh… what are your 'abilities'?"  
            "I'm a telepath. I can read another person's mind, and also project thoughts into that mind."  
            "Do you have the ability to do it to anybody?"  
            'Just about.'  
            Axel gasped and looked at Xavier. The professor's mouth wasn't moving, but Axel could feel him inside his head, talking to him.   
          "And if I don't go to this… Institute?"  
          "If you don't, you'll go about your normal life, like I said. The offer will always be open to you, of course, should the prejudice and hate ever start to bother you."  
          "I can still see my family if I go? And the people there will like me? And I can still read my comic books?"  
            "Yes, you can still read your comic books. I can't guarantee that everybody at the Institute will be your friend, but they will accept you. There is no prejudice against people that are different there."  
            "Alright. I'll go to this Institute. For now, anyway."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**Bavarian Alps**

**January 3rd, 2001:Saturday**

**9:47p.m.**

            "I am going out mama!" Fritz Jager yelled from the living room.

      "She is not here beast boy," he heard from behind him. He turned around and found himself face to face with his 14 year old cousin Sophie. He let out a long breath before speaking again. "Where is she?"

      "How should I know? All I was told is that she was leaving and won't be back until later tonight," she replied, walking up to Fritz and stopping in front of him. "So that means it is just you and me until later tonight. No one for you to go running to. No one to look out for you…no one to love you," she said getting closer with every word.

            "Yeah, whatever.  Why don't you go play with your ugly dolls or something? I'm leaving," Fritz said, raising his voice while side stepping around her and heading towards the door again.

            "I don't have any dolls," she said calmly. "Besides, you're the only thing that's ugly in this house, _freak_. You only have three fingers, and a tail for god's sake!  Don't even get me started on your _fur_.  My aunt and uncle should have done you a favor and let you _die_ in those woods where they found you!" She had moved back in front of him and was now pushing him back toward the stairs to his room.

            "Oh and you look better. Pale skin, five fingers…_no_ tail?! Maybe I would have been better if they _had_ let me die in those woods! Then I wouldn't have to put up with _you_!"  He was yelling now and started emitting small coils of electricity from his body. 

            "You better calm down. Remember what happened last time? It would be a shame for you to have to replace all those fuses again. I know how much you _loved_ that." She said sarcastically.

            Fritz took some slow deep breaths to calm himself. The waves of electricity that were slowly growing bigger with his anger started to die down.  He pushed past her and walked out the front door and slammed it behind him.

            Fritz wandered around his town aimlessly swerving around trees while muttering to himself. "Stupid Sophie. Gah, I could kill her!" he said to himself. "Cause I'm a stupid bitch who always gets everything I want. Blah, blah, blah, I'm a dirty tramp," he said mimicking his cousin's voice. It was about 10:00 at night.  This was the only time he could leave the house, or chance being seen by someone.  He had to be careful to stay out of the light. Even though his fur made him appear almost invisible in the dark, he still needed to be careful not to be seen. He walked to a clearing of trees in the back of the little town he lived in, where there was a small stream. He usually came here to be by himself, and release built up emotion.  So far, he didn't think anyone new about this little sanctuary. He lay down, putting his hands behind his head. He stared up at the moon and eventually fell asleep.  Fritz dreamed of a place where there were people like him who lived together.  Away from others who would persecute them because they were different.  

            Fritz awoke at 2:14 in the morning and stood up too stretch his cramped muscles.  He looked at his watch and realized he was late to return home.  He usually returned home at about two o'clock. So, walking in a bit of a hurry, he left the clearing and started walking back through the town, towards his home.

            When he passed a clearing he heard some muffled screams. Being the curious young boy that he was, he decided to investigate the noises. He walked a ways into the clearing and spotted two silhouettes. One was on the ground with its hands over its head and the over was standing over it with a bag in its hand. When Fritz got closer he noticed that the person on the ground was an old women and the person standing over her was man with her purse in his hands. Fritz hid behind a large tree to stay out of sight, but slipped in a puddle of water and fell out of the shadows, right in front of the man.

            The man turned around and dropped the purse, "Whoa, what the hell are you?" he asked. "No way man. No way." He took one last look at the woman on the ground and ran out of the woods, muttering things about beer and weed. 

            Fritz picked himself up and looked over at the old lady who was staring wide-eyed at him.

            "A-are you okay?" He asked her. But the only answer he got was "Demon!" Not like he hadn't expected that. But, after all, he had just saved her.  

            She got up, grabbed her purse, hit him in the side and ran off down the alley. He just stood there staring after her. 

            After the initial shock of being hit in the side by an old lady wore off, he turned around and slowly walked out of the clearing towards the town. _"Note to self: never help women in distress,"_ he thought.

            When he reached the edge of the clearing he heard more screams, yells, and loud noises. He looked to his right and found some of the town's people outside in their pajamas with torches, pitchforks, and clubs. They turned to face him and started running towards him.

            "There's the demon!" One of the men shouted pointing in his direction. "Get it!"

            Fritz was sure this wasn't going to turn out good. The only thing for him to do was to turn around and run in the opposite direction. Soon he was running full force on all fours through the town. He swerved around as many trees as he could, trying to lose them but when he looked back, they were still there. He turned back around, and ran into a tree, falling to the ground and clutching his face as pain spread through it like fire. This was all the time the mob needed to catch up. They swarmed around him like bees on a flower.

            "You're not going anywhere, DEMON!" A man in the front said.

            "Get the rope," another said.

            "Tie it up!"

            "Don't let it move," he heard from different people in the crowd.

            "No, please, don't hurt me! I didn't do it! I saved an old lady. Doesn't that count for anything?" Fritz yelled over the noise of the mob.

            But no one cared. "Don't listen to it. It will only tell you lies and corrupt your mind!" Yelled the man with the rope.

            They grabbed him by the arms and tied them behind his back, gagged him, then they tied his feet together and lifted him over their shoulders. Fritz was carried to the town square where there was a gallows and town's people waiting for the lynching. A big man dragged the struggling Fritz up the ramp to the top of the scaffold and stood him in the center of the platform. The man slipped the noose around Fritz's neck and stood back while another man, in a black robe, walked up the platform and stood in front of him. He produced a bible and a cup of water from his robes. He turned to a page in the bible and started reading from it. Then he dipped his fingers in the water and splashed it on Fritz's forehead.

            "May you return to hell and never return," the priest finished and walked off the platform.

            "Hey man, I not from hell. Get me the fuck down. I swear, if I ever get down from here I'll…well, you don't want to know what I am going to do. That's right, you'd better walk away, pansy!" Fritz looked out over the crowd from his position and noticed little kids and babies had come to watch the lynching of the "demon." The man who carried him to the top of the gallows said some things to the crowd, though Fritz didn't hear any of it because he was to busy struggling to get out of the noose. The man finished and pulled the lever by his side. The door under Fritz's feet opened and he fell through. All he saw was a blur in slow motion of faces and people cheering and clapping. The only thing he could do was struggle. Fritz had never felt a worse pain. The rope started to dig into his flesh and rub his neck raw. Fritz could hear pops and cracks in his neck and the fur under the rope was about gone by now.  

            After hanging there for what seemed like hours, his vision started getting really hazy and faint. He was struggling less now and couldn't feel his body anymore. Numbness was spreading through his limbs and was working its way to his head. His arms and legs were not responding to his commands any more.  Just when it seemed like he could not go on any longer, he let out a cry of pain as a wave of electricity burst from his body.  All the towns' people dropped to the ground.  The rope had caught fire and started to burn.  Just then it snapped and he fell to the ground gasping for air.  He struggled for a while trying to get the burning rope off of his neck. Finally it gave way and he tossed it to the ground.  

                        Fritz just lay there trying to get as much air as possible. He could feel the numbness leaving his body and light headiness ease up.  After a delay, he slowly rose to his feet and looked around.  All the people who where there to watch the lynching were now lying on the ground unconscious.  Fritz stepped over a few unconscious bodies, turned around and sprinted as fast as he could, on all fours, back home.

            When he arrived home, he didn't want to wake anyone up so he walked around to the back and climbed up the wall leading to his bedroom.  He climbed through the window and walked over the mirror to inspect his neck.  There was a visible ring around it where there was no more fur. He looked at the clock on the wall and it was nearly 3:00a.m. Since he couldn't sleep, and he would be waking up in a few hours anyway, he decided he would stay up the rest of the night.  So he jumped up to his ceiling and started pacing back and forth trying to figure out what the heck was going on.  Pacing the ceiling was a habit he had for as long as he could remember. Although he could never quite figure out how he was able to do this.  He had to get down every now and then because the blood would rush to his head.  He spent most of the night walking around on the ceiling of his room.

            He smelled his mothers cooking around 8:00a.m, and decided not to tell anyone what happened the other night.  He grabbed a scarf out of his dirty clothes basket and wrapped it around his neck to hide the ring around his neck where there wasn't any fur, because the rope had rubbed it off. He changed into a clean pair of clothes and walked down the stairs taking each step two at a time. His room was in the attic so he could hide there when his parents had guests over. When he got into the kitchen his family greeted him.

            "Pepper!" his mother yelled. "Where were you? I didn't hear you come home last night; I was so worried." She ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him in a giant huge.

            "Sorry I scared you mama," he said. "I…lost track of time." He held up his wrist that still had his broken watch on it. 'Probably got broken by the mob,' he thought.

            "Just as long as you are OK," she told him. "Now come and sit." She motioned for him to take a seat at the table for breakfast.

            "I told you he would be fine, Marge," his father told her. "Fritz is old enough to look after himself. Besides, if anyone saw him, he would be hanging by a rope right now," he said laughing.

            "Yeah…rope," Fritz said uneasily, rubbing his neck. He sat down at the table and served himself some sausage and eggs. His was the biggest serving there, as always.  He always ate a lot.  He never knew why.  But he felt very weak if he didn't eat anything, which was the case right now.

            "Glad you came home in one piece." Sophie said sarcastically. "That would be a bummer to find you _dead_,"she said emphasizing the last word.

            Fritz looked over at her and stuck his tongue out.

            "Fritz. Manners! Your cousin is just concerned for you." Margot said

            "Yeah. I'm sure she is," he responded while staring across the table at his cousin.  

            "Why are you wearing a scarf inside, Fritz?" His uncle Tobias asked.

            "It's cold," Fritz responded quickly.

            "Makes sense," his uncle said. He cleared his plate from the table and turned to Marge. "Thanks for that wonderful breakfast Marge."

            "You're very welcome." She answered.

            She cleared the table after everyone was finished eating, then went into the living room to read. Sophie went outside to play with some friends, and Herman went outside in the back to work on the shed he was building, and his brother Tobias went out to help him. 

******

            Fritz spent most of the day in his makeshift gym. His father had turned one of the empty rooms in the house into a workout room. He had free weights, a tread-mil, and mats and bars for his gymnastics.  He would come in here every other day for a few hours.  There wasn't much else he could do during the day.  After a while he got bored so he decided to listen to his CDs. He walked up the stairs to his room and changed out of his sweaty close and into some clean ones. He couldn't find his CDs in his dresser where he usually put them so he thought either his mother or father had put them somewhere. He turned and left his room to find his mom.

******

_            Ding-Dong_!The doorbell rang and Margot put her book down to answer the door. When she opened it, a bald man in a wheelchair and a big burly man greeted her.

            "Hello Mrs. Jager," the man said. "I am Professor Charles Xavier and this is Logan," he said pointing to the man next to him. "May we come in?"

            "How do you know my name?" She asked, standing in the doorway.

            "I know your name because I am a telepath. Please, may we come in? I will explain everything," Xavier said, motioning towards the door. 

            "Oh, I am sorry. Where are my manners?" She held the door open for them. 

"It is perfectly fine," Xavier said as she showed them to the living room. They sat down in the chairs around an antique table. 

"Can I get you something to drink?" She asked them.

            "Water will be fine," Xavier said

            "I don't suppose you have any beer?" Logan asked.

            "Actually I do. My husband drinks," Margot replied, getting up to fetch their drinks. "I will be back in a few moments." 

            She returned a few minutes later with a cup of water in one hand and a beer in the other.  She handed the water to Professor Xavier and the beer to Logan, then took a seat across from them.

            "Now, what is this about?" she asked, stirring her own tea on the coffee table to the left of her.

            "Mrs. Jager, I know your son has been going through some…changes," Xavier said taking a drink out of his water.

            Margot stopped stirring her tea. "How do you know about Fritz?" She asked skeptically.

            "As I said before Mrs. Jager, I am a telepath. I can read other people's minds," he said, tapping his temple with his first two fingers on his left hand. "I have come to offer your son a place in my school, the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters. This is a school for children who have special abilities. Mutants," he said.

            "Will Fritz be able to live a normal life at this school?" She asked.

            "Yes. Along with training and learning to harness his abilities, he will also attend a normal high school," Xavier said, placing his hands together over his lap and interlocking his fingers.

            "How can he with the way he looks?" she asked. "He will be cast out as a freak."

            "I am aware of this. There is another student at my school that looks similar to him," Xavier said. He wheeled over to her and produced a watch from his jacket. "When he puts this on, he will appear...normal," he said, handing her the watch.

            "Don't worry about your son, miss. He'll be fine," Logan said, finishing his beer. He walked over to the doorway of the living room, sniffing the air. "Hmph. _Smells_ like the Elf," he said, looking around.

            "Where's Fritz now Mrs. Jager?" Xavier asked.

            She looked from Logan back to the Professor. "He should be in the gym right now."

            "Would you mind if I went looking for him?" Logan asked her while moving closer to the doorway.

            "No, not at all. Down the hall, first door on you left," she said motioning with her hands.

Logan turned and headed out of the room in search of the young mutant.

******

            Fritz bounded down the stairs taking them two at a time. "Mama! Have you seen my CDs? I can't find--" He stopped in the middle of his sentence when he bumped into Logan and fell to the ground with a thud. "Please don't hurt me," he said looking up at the big man. "I'm not a demon. Please don't scream." He began looking down the hall behind him frantically.

            "I'm not going to hurt you kid," Logan said holding his hands up. "We just want to talk. That's all."

            "W-who's we?" Fritz said stopping where he was and switching to english.

            "Just come in the living room and we'll explain everything," Logan said, moving aside to allow Fritz room to pass. Fritz stepped forward and moved passed the man in the hallway, staying close to the opposite wall, still not trusting him all that much.  Logan shook his head and chuckled to himself while following the young mutant into the next room.

"Ah. There you are," Xavier said as Fritz entered the living room followed by Logan. "Now, I believe you would like an explanation," he said, turning to face Fritz. "Please, sit," Xavier said, motioning to the chair in front of him. "I am Professor Charles Xavier. You have already met Logan. I was just telling your mother about the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters," he said. "If you choose to, you may attend this school in America."

            "Vhat kind of school ees zhis?" Fritz asked, looking nervously over at Logan while rubbing the bleached, spaded tip of his tail. Another habit he had developed when he was nervous.

            "A school for mutants. You will learn to control and develop your powers," Xavier said, interlocking his fingers over his lap again.

            "You mean others like me?" Fritz asked.

            "Yes."

            "No. I mean do any of zhem look like me?" 

            "There is one other," Xavier said. He grabbed the watch off of the coffee table next to him and handed it to Fritz. "Put this on."            

Fritz took the watch and strapped it on his wrist. Xavier flipped a switch on the side and Fritz's appearance flickered and was replaced by a pale skinned boy with five fingers and no fur.

            He stood up and walked to the mirror on the wall. He stood staring at his image for a while before speaking. "So this is just a disguise."

"Well…yes," Xavier said. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, It's still hiding!" Fritz turned around and was now in front of the professor. "I thought I vas going to be able to live a normal life at zhis school. How can it be normal if I am hiding from everyone?"

"You only need to wear it when you are away from the Institute," Xavier said. He motioned for Fritz to site back down, and he did.

            "So…zhere is another person like me? He *looks* like me?" Fritz asked.

            "Yes Fritz. He is in school right now, otherwise I would have asked him to come along with me to meet you," Xavier said.

            "Vhen can I go?" Fritz asked excitedly, turning his gaze from his mother to Xavier to Logan and back again. 

            "Are you sure you want to go, dear? America is a long way away," his mother said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

            "Yes mama. I'm sure," Fritz said. "I can still come back and visit, right?" He asked the professor.

            "Of course you can Fritz," he answered. "We are not trying to keep you away from your family." He turned to Logan. "Would you go prep the X-Jet Logan?"

            "Sure think Chuck," he said. Then he turned to face Fritz and ruffled the boy's hair with his hand. "See you soon kid." He passed Margot on the way out the door. "Ma'am."

            Xavier turned to roll out the door. "Now, we must be going. You will take a plane to New York in a few days. So make sure you pack," He said to Fritz. "Thank you for your hospitality Mrs. Jager," Xavier said. Then he turned and rolled out the door.

            "Wait!" Fritz yelled. "Vhat is your power?" He asked the professor when he was on the front porch. 'I am a telepath.' He heard in his head. Then the professor was gone. Fritz and Margot just stood there watching the X-Jet fly away.

            "Well what are we doing just standing around here? You should go pack, and I will tell you father and uncle you will be leaving." Margot walked out of the room towards the backyard.

            "Aye-aye captain," Fritz said with a mock salute. Then he bounded down the hall towards his room.

____________________

Chapter one will be up soon. Fritz and Axel arrive in America. R&R please. Likes? Dislikes?


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's note:** This is still a PG-13 story so don't read if your not allowed. Please read and review.

Blah.

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**Kennedy International Airport**

**January 7th, 2001:Wednesday**

**4:52p.m.**

            "Non-stop flight, number 135 from Germany, has touched down. Please have your ticket stub ready has you exit the terminal," the voice from the overhead speaker said.   

            Fritz walked out of a terminal following the other passengers into the bright light of the lobby.  He had his image inducer on, and a backpack with personal and breakable items in it. He handed the terminal guard his ticket and walked over to the window that over looks the runways. He looked out at the city in the distance.  He had seen New York City before in pictures only.  To see the real thing was completely different.  He had never seen so many tall buildings before in his life.  It looked like a jungle of metal and stone.  He had always dreamed of living in a place like that and now his dream had finally come true.  

            He and turned around and headed to the bag collector dodging around people who looked as if they would rather walk over him then around him.  He got bumped into and turned around. Upon walking backwards he stepped on a little boy's remote controlled car, crushing it.  

            "Mommy!" The little kid shouted. "The big mean boy broke my car! It don't work no more!" He yelled getting up from his sitting position on the ground.  The kid ran over to his mom, who was sitting in one of the waiting chairs, and started tugging on her dress.  She got up and walked over to where Fritz was standing.  The lady bent down and picked up the smashed toy on the ground and waved it in front of his face yelling, "look what you've done you clumsy fool! You broke it. I hope you have the money to pay for a new one. They are _very_ hard to find," she was just rambling on about how he had ruined a brand new toy her husband had just bought their son. "You just wait until my husband gets back. Then you'll get a good talking to."

            "Whoa, slow down. I deedn't mean to. Eet vas an accident," Fritz said, pushing the down away from his face. "Your son shouldn't have been playing vith it vhere everyone is walking," he was looking her straight in the eyes when she turned and shouted to who Fritz guessed was her husband.  

            He stood up from the chair he was sitting in and walked over to the two.  Now this wasn't your normal husband.  Big was an understatement for the size of his muscles.  This man was like a _tank_.  That was the only word Fritz could describe him as.  

            The man's shirt was so tight; you could see every line of his muscles and make out every vein in his arms. "Yes Susan?" He said in a thundering voice, "what did this delinquent do?"

            The lady ran behind her husband pulling their son with her, trying to keep away from Fritz, as if he had a viral disease of some sort. She pointed at him and said, "that boy broke little Tommy's car, Bill. And then he talked back to me."

            "Didn't your parents every teach you to respect you elders?" Bill asked towering over Fritz.

            "No. Even if zey did, your definitely not my elder," Fritz said.

            "I'm older than you. I'm you elder," Bill said. He turned to face his wife and said something to her in a whisper. She picked up Tommy and walked back to the waiting chairs.  Bill turned back to Fritz, "now, you can either fork over eighty dollars for the car, or we can get security involved. Your choice."

            "Hey, I don't vant any trouble, I have a ride to find," Fritz said. He turned around and walked in the direction of the bag return. But Bill wasn't going to let him off that easily. He reached out and grabbed Fritz's arm, a little too hard. Fritz spun around and tried to free his arm from the steel grasp, "hey! Let go!" He shouted.

            Bill stood there, eyes wide, mouth open. He had grabbed onto the arm with Fritz's image inducer. It had been destroyed under Bill's mighty grip, leaving Fritz disguise-less for the world to see. All commotion in the terminal stopped.

            Fritz could feel hundreds of eyes on him. He looked around and everyone was either looking at him, or whispering to one another. He noticed Bill was still holding on to his wrist, "um, could you let go please. I can't feel my hand," he said trying to move his three fingered hand to circulate the blood. Bill looked down at his hand and slowly removed it. 

            "Mommy? Is that the devil?" Tommy asked his mother. But she didn't have time to respond because Fritz had already started in their direction. He was staring at the little boy with death in his eyes.  He was a few feet away from the annoying little brat when bill stepped in front of him.

            "Hey! Stay away from my son you little shit!" Bill swung at Fritz and connected with his jaw, which sent him sprawling to the floor. 

            By now the whole airport was in panic. People were running for the door. Some were tripping and being trampled by others. They were all running to get away for the "devil". Fritz saw mall security heading his way so he ran through the first door he could find. The Girl's bathroom.

            Once inside he walked to the sink and looked at his reflection in the mirror. "Damn eet!" He shouted as he punched the soap dispenser to his left, "ow, Fuck!" He clutched his hurt hand with his other. _"Note to self:_ _metal hurts."_ He turned around when he heard a squeak and saw a woman fixing her dress, coming out of a stall.  She took one look at him and fainted.  Just then the door opened and in walked a familiar man. Logan.  

            "'the hell!?" Logan shouted. "This your handy work bub?" He asked pointing down at the unconscious body on the floor. He backed Fritz into a corner so he couldn't escape.

            "No!" Fritz shouted. "She just fainted, I deedn't touch her." Logan backed off to allow Fritz some room.

            "Sorry," Logan said. "I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."

            "Don't vorry. Eet's fine," Fritz said. He walked around Logan and went back to the sink were he had punched the soap dispenser. He turned on the water and put his hurt hand under the cold stream.

            "What happened to you?" Logan asked. He walked over to Fritz and lifted up his hand to look at it.

            "Accident," Fritz took his hand back from Logan and continued to run it under cold water.

            "You don't like 'em, do you?" Logan asked, folding his arms across his chest.

            "Who?" Fritz asked.

            "Normal people. You don't like 'em very much, do you?" Logan asked again.

            "How can you tell?" Fritz asked, avoiding Logan's eyes.

            "I can smell your hate for 'em," Logan said. "You know, you should try to give 'em a chance."

            "I don't vant to talk about zees any more," Fritz said. "Can ve just go now?" He asked.

            "Yeah, alright. Let's go," Logan said. He opened the door for Fritz. 

            "Vhat about my vatch?" Fritz asked.

            "Don't worry about that. You scared just about everyone out of this building. Just keep your head down when where in the car and everything 'ell be fine." Fritz hesitated for a while, then followed the burly Canadian out the door. He grabbed his bag from the luggage return and they both walked outside into the cold parking lot.

____________________

I didn't get any reviews for the last chapter. So if I don't get any for this one I might not continue. SO PLEASE REVIEW!


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's note:** Hi everyone. I have only gotten two reviews so far. So I am going to post all the chapters I have written and wait until Sunday to check for reviews. If I don't get any more reviews then I won't continue because I don't know if anyone is even reading this and it would be a waste of my time to continue. Thank you for your reviews Casakitten and Nemain. I'm glad to see you enjoy reading it. But like I said, it would be a waste of my time to finish if you are the only ones reading. Thank you all.

Blah. 

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**Bayville Medical Center**

**January 7th, 2001:Wednesday**

**5:46p.m.******

            Axel Fultz stuck his fingers under the cast that covered his arm to relieve the annoying itch it caused. He had been wearing this cast for only a day or so and already he was beginning to passionately hate it. He couldn't wait to get to the Institute, where he could get better medical help than this pitiful American hospital. Though he was glad to be in America, where he was closer to the Institute.   
          His parents had requested transfer from Germany to New York, since they knew that he would be going to Xavier's school. They helped him pack, gave him their love, and sent him on his way. He couldn't help but notice that they seemed a little relieved to have him off of their hands. He was, after all, a mutant. Things like that probably weren't accepted in his part of Germany.  
          "Mr. Fultz, your escort is waiting in the lobby to take you home." Axel whirled around and saw a nurse poking her head into his hospital room. It was your typical nurse: bright red lipstick, perky blonde hair tucked under her hat, too much eye shadow. The whole nine yards.  
          "Uh… Yeah. Okay, uh, I'll be down in a minute then," Axel said, still a bit startled by the nurses sudden appearance.   
          "Would you like me to walk you there, or can you handle it?" the nurse asked.  
          "No, I'll be fine. Thanks anyway," Axel replied, dislodging his finger from under his cast. He gathered his things up, which included one big duffel bag full of his clothes and a few personal items. He had decided to leave some of his stuff back in Berlin for when he visited home, and he didn't feel like decorating a small dorm room with all of his stuff, especially since he was going to have a roommate who probably wouldn't agree with it. He hoisted his bag over his shoulder and headed for the elevator. Once inside, he pressed the button for the lobby and, after a minute or so, stepped out into the large sterile white room. There were a few pictures along the walls to keep the kids occupied, and there were 'Merry Christmas' banners strung all over the room in celebration of the winter holidays.   
          Axel glanced around, searching for anybody that might be likely to take him to the school. Xavier had told him to look for a boy in his late teens with brown hair and red glasses. The part about the red glasses had naturally struck him as a little awkward.   
          "_What kind of dork wears red glasses, anyway? Maybe that's some kind of American fad…"_ Axel thought to himself as he sank into the most uncomfortable plastic excuse for a chair that he'd ever sat upon in his life. He glanced around for the glasses that should have been so easy to spot amongst all the normal people, but was still proving to be more difficult than he had expected. The room was swarming with people, all rushing to see their loved ones before Christmas.   
          "Forget it. If I just stay in this spot, he's bound to see me eventually," Axel said to himself.  _"He's bound to_ _find me eventually…A-any time now."_ Axel was beginning to tire of sitting down; he was ready to go back to his room and wait for this red glasses man to pick him up, when suddenly he appeared, slithering his way through the crowd.  
It was about time too.  
          "Hey. Axel, right?" the teenager said after walking up to Axel with a smile.  
          "That's me. Let's go, yeah?" Axel responded as he stood up and pulled his bag over his shoulder.  
          "Sure. Let's hit the road then. Oh, by the way, I'm Scott," he added, offering his hand. Axel grabbed hold of it and shook it hastily, so wanting to get to the Institute.  
          "Let's get going. I really want to get out of the hospital," Axel said excitedly. Scott turned and started walking for the door with Axel close behind him.   
            The tingling sensation all over his body as he strolled for the doors of the hospital was so sudden, Axel stopped instantly in utter confusion. It's one of those feelings you get when your foot's asleep; but Axel had it all over his body.  
            "Something wrong?" Scott asked when Axel stopped.

            "I… I don't know," he replied. He had no idea how to act. Should he itch himself, or what? He was tingling all over, and he was just standing there like an idiot, with confused practically written all over his face. The tingling feeling stopped just as suddenly at it had arrived, and Scott was instantly next to him. No, Scott was behind him. Or was he in front of him?  
The people around Axel, including Scott, were shooting past him like bullets. They melded into one large mass of blurring skin and color. Scott was all around him, occasionally stopping for a split second, then moving again. Axel looked around in confusion, and again he felt helpless.

******  
            Scott walked in front of Axel and waved his hand in front of his face. He got no response; Axel was staring out into space. He didn't even blink.   
"_Weird_," Scott thought. _"Must be part of his mutation."_

            "Hey Axel. You alright, man?" Scott asked, again waving his hand in front of Axel's eyes. Scott glanced around nervously, and received only nervous glances in return. People were beginning to stare, and that could end badly. He paced circles around Axel a few times, stopped in front of him, then paced some more. He had no idea what he should do about this; he had no way of calling the professor to ask, and Axel didn't seem to be getting any closer to moving again.   
            There were payphones, of course, but he didn't want to leave his accomplices side in fear of some change occurring while he was gone.

            "Do something, Scott. Come on! Think, think, think!" Scott said to himself, pounding his hands against his forehead. Nothing came to him; no ideas, no revelations, no nothing. He even pounded his head a few more times, but still could not think of what to do. He turned back to Axel to maybe wave his hand in front of his face again--maybe poke him or something--but the kid was gone. "What--Axel?" Scott looked around helplessly, but found no Axel. The kid was nowhere to be seen. Scott began to walk around the hospital frantically, searching for the mutant he was supposed to be responsible for. 

            _"Yeah, responsible,"_ Scott mused. _"I'm so responsible right now, aren't I? Can't even find a fifteen year old kid." ___

******  
            Axel was standing there for about two seconds, letting Scott walk around him like a tornado, waving his hand in front of his face and everything. Then he was gone. Scott had given up; or at least he had left to go do something else. Axel had no idea where Scott had disappeared to, but he _did_ know that the people around him started to slow down.  
            _"Finally!"_ Axel thought, just as the people slowed down to normal speed. But it didn't stop there. The people continued to slow down, until they were moving slower than he was. Soon enough, they were hardly moving at all. Axel timed it at over a minute per blink of an eye. Just to his left, Scott had one of his hands on his forehead, in a frozen smack of frustration.   
            "Alright.. Reeeally gotta get to the Institute. So, I started this; I can stop it, right? All I have to do is speed everyone back up to normal. Let's do it," he said to himself. But even as he said it, it was beginning to sound more and more unlikely.

******

            Scott was about to call the professor when Axel appeared out of nowhere right in front of him. "Axel! What just happened?" Scott said.

            "I think it would be best if the professor explained it to you. I really want to get out of this hospital, okay?" Axel walked past Scott toward the door that led to the parking lot.

            "Sure, just don't pull that disappearing act again, alright?" Scott fallowed Axel out into the parking lot and showed him to the car.


	4. Chapter 3

**X Mansion**

**January 7th, 2001:Wednesday  
5:35p.m.**

            The X-Van came to a stop in front of the institute. The driver side door opened and Logan stepped out. He walked around to the back and opened the rear door. He pulled out Fritz's bag and walked around to the passenger side where Fritz was out of the van waiting for him.

            "Let's go kid." Logan handed him his bag and led the way into the institute. They walked through the foyer and stopped outside of some double doors. The institute was relatively quiet for this time of day. No one was in the rec. room watching T.V. like they usually would be doing. No noise was coming from upstairs or the kitchen either. "The professor's already waiting for you," Logan said before opening the doors. Fritz walked past him into the dimly lit study.

            "Have a seat Fritz," the professor said. Fritz found a comfy chair facing the desk and sat down on his haunches.

            "How was you flight here?" The professor asked.

            "Fine." Fritz was looking around the lavishly decorated study. There were paintings and plants all over the room along with old curtains rustic curtains. It reminded him of home.

            "Good, I'm glad to hear that," the professor shuffled some papers on his desk, no doubt Fritz's U.S. registration forms. "There is another boy who will be joining us soon. So until then, would you like something to drink?"  
  
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**

**X Mansion**

**January 7th, 2001:Wednesday**  
**6:03p.m.**  
  


            Scott held the door open for Axel. "You need help with your bags?"

            "I think I can manage," Axel hauled his bag over the threshold and let it fall to the ground once inside. "Damn. This place is big," he said

            "You haven't seen half of it," Scott closed and locked the door behind them. "This way." He led Axel to the door of the professor's study.

            "So… what's with the glasses?" Axel was just out side the study when he turned to Scott.

            "It's part of my mutation. If I didn't have these glasses on, you would be punched through that wall over there." Scott pointed to a wall behind Axel, then turned the study's doorknob and walked in, followed by Axel.  
  


            Xavier and Fritz were still sitting at the desk, talking about life at home. Logan was in the corner of the room, reading a magazine and drinking a beer. Xavier had a cup of tea in his hand and Fritz was holding one with his tail. He was still sitting on his haunches in the big antique chair, when Axel walked in.

            "Ah, you're here," Xavier set his cup down. "If you don't mind Fritz, I would like to continue our conversation another time?"

            "Sure," Fritz didn't move from the chair, he was watching Axel and Scott carefully. _"Humph, wonder what their powers are," _he thought. _"Okay... they are both wearing sunglasses inside… in a dark room… at night. Must be an American thing."_

            "Well, now that you're here, we can move on with introductions." Xavier rolled over to where Axel was standing. "How was your stay at the hospital?" Xavier asked.

            "...Good," Axel said. _"And white and sterile and quiet. And annoying," _he thought.

            "Good to hear." Xavier turned to face Scott. "Scott, will you gather all of the students in the foyer?"

            "Sure thing professor," Scott left and shut the door quietly behind him.  
            Xavier turned back to Axel. "Now, on with introductions. The man in the corner is Logan. He's one of the teachers here," Logan looked up from his magazine, only to nod at Axel. "And the boy in the chair is Fritz, he just arrived from Germany. Fritz, this is Axel," he motioned with his hand. "He also comes from Germany."

            Axel walked over to the chair where Fritz was sitting. _"Fine, don't get up. I'll walk over to you. Lazy bum," _he thought. Axel extended his hand when he got to the chair. Fritz did the same. 

_            "Here it comes," _Fritz thought. They shook for a split second before Axel jumped back. "Ah--…um, hi. Nice to meet you," Axel said before wiping his hand on his shirt.

            "You too," Fritz said.

            Xavier turned a dial on the wall and the room brightened. "Fritz may look different, but he's still a teenage boy, and he still has feelings."

            "Thanks professor. I think." Fritz got up from the chair and put his cup of tea back on the desk.

            "Erbärmlich," Axel muttered.

            "Eet's okay. Happens all ze time," Fritz said.  
            "Well. If you both are ready, the other students are waiting in the foyer." Xavier rolled towards the door and motioned for them to follow.   
  
            Xavier rolled forward into the foyer and stopped in front of the gathered mutants. "Everyone, these are the new students." He pointed to Axel. "This is Axel. He comes from Germany."   
            "Hi," Axel said shortly.  
            Next, Xavier pointed to Fritz. "And this is Fritz. He also comes from Germany.  
            "Hallo." Fritz said waiving a three-fingered hand.  
            "Great, like another one." Kitty folded her arms across her chest.  
            "Half-pint!" Logan scolded.   
            Xavier then pointed to the group of students. "In the chair on the left is Evan Daniels, a.k.a Spyke. To the left of him is Scott Summers, a.k.a Cyclops. On the couch is Jean Gray and Rogue," he pointed to each of them separately so Fritz and Axel wouldn't get them mixed up. "And in the chair on the right is Kitty Pryde, a.k.a Shadowcat." Xavier looked around the room for a moment. "Where is Kurt?" Everyone shrugged their shoulders. 

            "No idea," Evan said. Just then there was a 'bamf' and Kurt landed on Kitty's lap. "Ew. Like, get off me you fur ball." Kitty pushed him off onto the ground and got up. She walked over to the couch where Jean and Rogue were sitting and sat in the middle, muttering something about allergies.  
            Kurt picked himself up off the ground. "Sorry Keety." He hung his head in embarrassment.  
            "You really should watch where you are teleporting Kurt," the professor said.   
            "Sorry professor, eet vas an accident," Kurt scanned the people in the room and stopped on Fritz. "Hey professor? I think I'm coming down vith something."

            "Your not sick Kurt, these are the new students," Xavier pointed out. "Axel, comes from Germany, as does Fritz."

            "But I thought you said I vas ze only one who looks like this?" Kurt asked.

            "Well, at the time cerebro couldn't detect Fritz because his powers hadn't manifested yet," Xavier said.

            "Cerebro?" Fritz had a puzzled look on his face.

            "A machine used to locate and track mutants," Xavier explained. "That's how I found you."

            "Really? Can I see it?" Fritz asked excitedly

            "Maybe later," Xavier said. "Now, Axel, we think we have found you a codename."  
            "I'm listening," he put his hands in his pocket to act as if he didn't care.  
            "We think Chronos fits you best," Xavier said.  
            "Right on," Axel said, nonchalant.  
            "And Fritz, we've decided on Darkspark for you, " Xavier said.  
            "Cool." Fritz repeated the name over and over again in his head so he wouldn't forget it.  
            "Now Fritz, Axel--you two will be sharing a room. Kitty will show you where it is." Xavier turned his wheelchair around. "Logan, have their bags been brought up yet?" he asked the burly Canadian.  
            "Yup," Logan said before turning towards the kitchen. "It's good to have you two here." He walked into the next room, grabbed a beer from the fridge and walked out into the garage.  
            "Kitty, will you please show Fritz and Axel to their room?" Xavier asked.  
            "Okay, follow me." She stood up from the couch and walked towards the stairs.   
            "You will meet the rest of the teachers later tonight, along with a tour of the school." Xavier rolled back towards the doors of his study. "If you'll excuse me, I have a lot of work to do." With that, he disappeared through the large double doors.  
            After being personally welcomed to the Institute by nearly every one of the X-Men, Kitty led the two to the room that they'd be sharing. Their room was one of the last in the hallway. Kitty opened the door for them and then followed them in.  
            Their bags were already set at the foot of each bed. Axel walked over to his and started to unpack.

            "So…vhat are your powers?" Fritz asked. He couldn't take his eyes off of Kitty. _"God she's so hot," _he thought to himself.  
            "I can like, phase through solid objects," she said and demonstrated by phasing her hand through the door. "I hope you two enjoy your stay, dinner's at six-thirty." She walked past the door and before shutting it, stuck her head back inside "Oh and Fritz, try not to like, get fur all over the place," she said coldly before shutting the door.  
            "Did I do something wrong?" Fritz turned to Axel, who was almost done unpacking his clothes.  
            "Looks that way." Axel threw his bag in the closet and flopped down on his bed with a comic book.  
            Fritz shrugged off the thought and walked over to his bed where his bag was. He began putting his clothes in the dresser beside his bed. Axel looked over the top of his comic book as Fritz pulled out a pair of pants with a whole cut in the back. Fritz then unpacked his assorted brushes and put them in the top drawer, followed by shirts and underwear. He put the empty bag into to closet and slid the door shut.   
            "Vhat are your powers?" Fritz walked over to his bed and sat down crossing his legs underneath him.   
            "Uhh... I don't really have a name for it or anything. But sometimes people start going really slow, and sometimes they start going really fast. Xavier said something about changing the speed of my molecules or something. It's pretty confusing." Axel didn't look up from his comic.

            "You don't talk much," Fritz pointed out.  
            "Mm." Axel looked up from his comic, an interesting thought suddenly forming in his mind. "Hey Fritz… Can I ask you a few questions?" he asked, quirking a brow. 

            Fritz shrugged his shoulders, inviting Axel to ask him whatever he wanted. 

            "Uh… Well, do you have to like, brush your entire body? And do you have to use dog shampoo or does it not matter? Speaking of shampoo and showers, does it take you like, three times as long as a normal person to wash yourself? Like an animal?" Axel didn't show any signs of being sarcastic or cruel. He was genuinely curious. But after the last question Fritz shot up from his bed and had Axel pinned to his in a split second. He was kneeling over Axel with both hands gripping his shirt.  
            "I'm not an animal," Fritz yelled. "Zhere's a big fucking difference," he started growling, but only tightened his grip on Axel's shirt.  
            "Hey man, I'm sorry! You don't have to flip out!" Axel was trying to pry Fritz's grip from his shirt. "They were honest questions!" Axel found the thought quite humorous, and didn't see anything wrong with his inquiries. After all, Fritz had practically asked him to start talking  
            Fritz let go and got off the bed. "Yeah. Vhatever," he said and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.


	5. Chapter 4

**X Mansion  
January 7th, 2001:Wednesday **

**6:21p.m.  
**  
                Fritz was so furious with Axel that he could have torn the couch to pieces rather than sink easily into the plump cushions. _"Call me an animal will he. I'll show him a fucking animal,"_ He thought hotly, rising from the sofa in irritation. A scowl crossed his lips when the door opened and Kurt crossed the threshold with a worried look on his face.  
            "Fritz? Are you okay? Axel said you ran off," Kurt said, closing the door and shrinking the distance between him and the other mutant.   
            "I'm fine. Just having a little problem adjusting to people calling me an animal!" Fritz replied angrily.   
            "Ah, you got the animal treatment too? Yeah, that happens. They do it all the time to me," Kurt explained, slumping into a plush chair and resting is animalistic feet on a coffee table. Fritz did the same. "I'm sure you'll get over it eventually."  
            "Maybe… But why do they do that? Call us animals?"  
            "Who knows? Maybe they think it's funny, maybe they think we are animals. I could care less what they think, really. You should do the same, or you'll be outta here like that," Kurt said, snapping his fingers.  
            "What's that supposed to mean?" Fritz turned his head curiously toward Kurt.  
            Kurt scoffed and said, "What do you mean 'what do I mean?' They say stuff like that all the time, and if you can't take it, you're going to want to leave. Trust me; I know."  
  
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\  
  
**X Mansion  
January 7th, 2001:Wednesday **

**6:25p.m.  
**  
            Axel followed Scott into the dining room, where everybody that he had met earlier was already seated at the huge table, along with a couple others. Axel glanced around uncomfortably, waiting for somebody to tell him what to do.  
            "Sit down," Scott said, practically reading his thoughts. Axel nodded and took a vacant seat next to Kitty and placed his hands in his lap.   
            "Hey, what's up?" Kitty asked, smiling.  
            "Uh… Nothing, I guess," Axel said, shifting nervously in his seat.  
            "Sorry you hafta be like, be paired up with that… thing," she said, shuddering.  
            "Ah, it's no big deal. He's alright." Just then, Fritz and Kurt both walked into the room, laughing and talking amongst each other. Fritz plopped into a seat next to Evan, and Kurt next to Fritz. They quieted down and looked at the Professor expectantly, who was seated at the head of the table.  
            "Glad to see you all made here in one piece," the Professor began, though nobody understood why they wouldn't be 'in one piece.' "Jean, will you retrieve the food please?"  
            Jean nodded and closed her eyes, lifting her hands. Following the motions of her hands, plates of food emerged from the kitchen and settled across the table.  
            "While Jean brings in the food, I would like to introduce you to a couple of instructors that you haven't met yet," the professor said to Axel and Fritz. "To my very left is Dr. Hank McCoy. Otherwise known as Beast." The professor gestured to a huge gorilla of a man sitting next to him, covered in blue fur.   
            "Hey," Beast said, lifting a gargantuan hand that was attached to an arm that had to have reached to the ground.  
            "And over there," said Xavier, motioning to Axel's right, "is Orora Monroe. Or Storm."  
            "Hello," Storm said. She was a very beautiful woman with dark colored skin and flowing white hair.   
As the last items of food flew onto the table, professor Xavier spoke again.   
            "We have decided to have a bit of a feast in honor of our newest additions." He waved his hands out to Axel and Fritz. "Eat as much as you can, you two. You have a big day tomorrow: your first day of school."  
            Axel and Fritz simultaneously shivered.  
  
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\  
  
**X Mansion  
January 8th, 2001:Thursday **

**7:00a.m.  
**  
            BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP!!   
            _"What is that…? That horrible noise. What is it? Am I still dreaming or--"_ Axel was suddenly up and out of bed, awakened by the most annoying beeping noise he had ever heard, his covers thrown to the side and onto the floor. He glanced around frantically, trying to make sense of where he was. Large, comfortable beds, sizable closets on either side, a door leading to a bathroom, and a… thing in the bed next to his. What was it?   
            _"Whatever it is, it's going to wait,"_ Axel thought. He looked toward the direction of the loud beeping and saw that it was coming from a small alarm clock on a nightstand next to his bed. The large, red lights illuminated the room slightly, providing the only light in the room.   
            BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP!!   
            A simple smack on the 'Snooze' button ceased the sharp noise, with much satisfaction.  
            "Eck… seven o' clock." He felt a little awkward, like he shouldn't be awake. Quite possibly because of the change in time zones. It would take a while to get used to that, but apparently his little stowaway in the other bed hadn't gotten used to it, and was still asleep.  
            "Fritz, you awake?" he asked, stretching.  
            "Uhh… I think so," Fritz responded. "It's too early to tell. Wake me up in four days and I'll give you a better answer."  
            "Yeah. I wish, man. But we got school to go to. An American school. Fun, ja?"  
            "Ja. Fun. Of course," Fritz said, rising from his bed and letting out a stretch induced yawn.  
            "Hey," Axel said. "Sorry about last night. Yanno, the whole animal thing. I was way out of line."  
            Fritz shrugged slightly as he was putting on a shirt. "It's no big deal. I got over it."  
            Axel stumbled to the light switch and flipped it on. The room flared suddenly with the artificial glow caused by the light bulb overhead, and Axel immediately slipped on his sunglasses. Afterwards, Scott stuck his head into the room, a sly grin on his face.  
            "Time to get up and go to school guys!" he said, smirking, then left and walked back to his own room.   
Axel sighed and trudged into the bathroom to shower while Fritz left for breakfast. He was so not ready to go to school yet.  
            "I've only been here for like, what, a half a day? Maybe a whole day, but still. I'm too damn tired to go to school," he said inwardly as he turned on his shower and glumly stepped in.   
  
******  
  
            Fritz dove into his eggs, bacon and toast, hungrily devouring the delicious sustenance. Kitty was standing nearby disgustedly, waiting for her own toast to pop up from the toaster.   
            "Gross," she said and turned around, folding her arms. Fritz simply looked up at her and shrugged innocently, forking chunks of scrambled eggs into his mouth.  
            Kurt strolled into the kitchen, whistling some random tune. He plopped down into the chair next to Fritz and snatched a piece of bacon from his plate.  
            "Guten morgen. How's it going?" Kurt said through a mouthful of food.  
            "Alright. Kind of tired though," Fritz replied, biting into his toast.  
            "Well you slept for like ten or eleven hours! You'd better be tired!" Kurt exclaimed.  
            "Hey, I ate a lot last night, okay? I was sleepy, give me a break," Fritz retorted.  
            Kurt snickered and seized another piece of bacon, then 'ported from the kitchen back to wherever he came from. In his place, Axel slumped into the chair and sunk his chin into his hands.  
            "What's wrong with you?" Fritz asked, finally finishing off his food and setting his plate in the sink. In response, Axel simply glanced at his watch, then frowned, again resting his chin on his palms.  
            "Ah, I see. Well, I'm off to the shower. And don't worry, you'll have plenty to do at school; you'll have no problem staying awake," Fritz said with a reassuring smile.  
  
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\  
  
**Bayville High School  
January 8th, 2001:Thursday  
8:43a.m.  
**  
            Axel thumped his head onto his desk and let his eyelids shut for a few seconds before opening them and raising his head. It was becoming such a difficulty staying awake as the teacher droned on and on about World War II, that Axel was ready to leave and walk back to the Institute where his big, comfortable bed was waiting for him. Absentmindedly, he fumbled around with the cast that covered his lower right arm, waiting--and hoping--for the day that it would be removed. He wondered if Fritz was off in his first hour, sitting perfectly awake behind his fake image of a normal teenage boy. A very not tired teenage boy.  
            _"He better not be awake, damn him. If he's having 'no problem staying awake' then I'll… Have to kill him._ _Or something,"_ Axel thought, the monotonous voice of his instructor fading into the distance. Memories of Berlin flooded back to him as he began to daydream: the bakery he had walked to, the bread he had purchased, the multi-ton city bus that had snapped his arm and smashed his face into the ground.  
            "Mr. Fultz. You are from Germany, correct?" The high pitched voice of his teacher sliced through his thoughts and ultimately depressed him. He didn't feel like answering stupid questions right now.  
            "Last I checked, yeah," he replied snidely, hoping the woman would take a hint and leave him alone. A few kids around him sniggered at his remark, but instantly looked up front in fear of getting scolded.  
            "Hm. Very funny," she said with a sarcastic smile. "Do you know if your grandfather served in the second World War? Maybe as a German soldier?"  
            "Uh, I don't know. I can't really remember anything from before a couple years ago. It's all pretty fuzzy," he responded. He twiddled his thumbs under his desk to keep him calm so he didn't jump from the desk and scream at the lady to start talking to someone else.  
            "Wait… What? You… don't remember? What, were you struck with amnesia or something?" she asked, scoffed at her own, totally not funny joke.  
            "I don't know. Maybe. All I know is that if I did have amnesia, nobody told me. I've been in Germany for as long as I can remember, though."  
            "Well, you've lived there for a couple of years, so shouldn't you know whether or not your own grandfather served in the War?" She glanced around the room as if she had just made the biggest discovery of the year, and was waiting for somebody to back her up.  
            "My grandpa died before I got to know him. You know, like, four or five years ago. My dad never really talks about it. Truthfully, I never asked if grandpa served in the War. Most Germans were Nazis, and I didn't want to know my grandfather as a Nazi. Anything else, or is this little trip down memory lane over?"   
            She glared down at him for a moment, then turned around to a map of Europe that she had pulled down and began to drone on about something else, which Axel promptly blocked from his mind.  
            _"Why don't I remember any of that? And why has nobody ever talked about me when I was little? Any_ _why the hell am I just now figuring this out?" _he thought, just as the shrieking bell cut through the classroom. He got to his feet and shuffled out the door, his eyes on the ground. _"Why can't I remember…?"_  
  
******  
            "Hey!" Fritz called from across the hall. Axel looked up and waved to Fritz, then took his side as they began to walk toward their English class.  
            "Man was that as boring for you as it was for me?" Axel grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets.  
            "Yeah eet vas," Fritz complained. "I vas ready to go to sleep again." Fritz started to talk about how he had spent the last hour with his head in his hands listening to his teacher's incoherent ramblings. But Axel wasn't listening. Instead he was trying to make sense of why he had just been practically tackled to the ground by a speeding passerby. The air was forced from his lungs as his back slammed into the ground, feebly protected by his backpack. His sunglasses flew off of his face and clattered to the ground behind him, causing the glaring light to flare into his too light eyes.   
            "Whoa! Hey, sorry about that!" Axel's speeding assailant exclaimed, bending over to retrieve bending over to retrieve the glasses. He held out his hand to Axel, who gladly grabbed hold and pulled himself off, bending over with his hands on his knees until he could breathe easily again. He took his sunglasses from the other kid and put them back on, blinking a few times to readjust his eyes.  
            "Damn, watch where you're going," he grumbled.  
            "Yeah, sorry about that. I uh… I was kind of in a hurry, I guess, and didn't really see where I was going," the kid replied. He held his hand out to Axel and added, "I'm Victor. Sorry about that, again."  
            "Uh… No problem," Axel said. He took Victor's hand and shook it lightly. "Yeah, I'm gonna go to English now," he said uncomfortably. "Later." Axel let go of Victor's hand and walked down the hall toward his class, with Fritz next to him.  
            Victor smiled at Axel's back and snickered quietly to himself.   
            "Yes… Later. That's when I'll see you, my friend. Of that you can be sure." He turned on his heel and headed in the opposite direction.

____________________

That is the last of them. I will wait until this weekend to decide if I have enough reviews to continue. 


	6. End

Sorry everyone. I didn't get any reviews. So this is the end of Ataxia. There won't be any more chapters after this. It is over. Finished. Done. Dead. Well…you get the picture. Thanks you Casakitten and Nemain for your reviews. You guys rule!

Blah.


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